Your Smile Reminded Me
by Ginger Glinda the Tangerine
Summary: PostRENT. Mimi and Collins meet a new member of Life Support... MimiCollins friendship, MimiOC friendship which looks like plain old MimiOC if you look at it sideways with one eye closed.


_I'm not sure if this should go in the Buffy X-overs section or not… so I'm just putting it here until I get told to move it! Oh, and I don't own anything. It all belongs to Jonathan Larson and Joss Whedon, whom I worship. Om._

…

It was the coldest spring day New York had seen in a long time. Of course, to Collins and Mimi, every day had seemed cold and depressing since Roger's funeral, but judging by the crisp frost lining the sidewalk, it wasn't a pleasant day for anyone else, either.

Mimi shivered and folded her arms, huddling close to Collins for warmth. He began to have second thoughts about taking her to Life Support after all, but as he took in her thin frame, looking even thinner draped as it was in one of Roger's old shirts and his famous plaid pants, he decided that getting her out of the loft she hadn't left for three weeks was more important than her getting a little chilly.

The dancer turned to glare at Collins as they approached the community centre, as if blaming him for the cold.

"Sorry, Meems," he shrugged. "It's not my fault."

She just rolled her eyes. She hadn't spoken since the day Roger died, not even to present a eulogy at his funeral. Collins was hoping some of the other Life Supporters would be able to get her to open up.

Mimi froze as they walked into the building. Collins supposed the gathering of five people was the biggest she'd seen for a while. She stood in the doorway and refused to move until he took both her hands and looked down into her face.

"It's okay, Mimi. They're not going to eat you."

She fought to keep from smiling as he led her slowly into the room.

"Mimi," Paul smiled as she took her usual seat and hugged her legs to her chest. "We're glad you could make it."

Collins looked around the circle. All the faces were familiar except one, a man in his early twenties sitting nervously next to Paul. He was dressed in jeans and a checkered shirt, and wore an eyepatch over his left eye.

"Okay, let's begin," Paul said, indicating for Steve, who was sitting on his other side, to introduce himself.

"Steve."

"Aly."

"Pam."

Mimi looked at Collins warily.

"Mimi," he said, pointing to her. "I'm Tom. Collins."

"Xander."

"I'm Paul."

They all automatically joined hands, except the new guy, who just looked confused.

"Affirmation," Collins explained quickly, trying not to show his surprise at the strength with which Mimi was gripping his fingers.

"Right…" Xander looked slightly scared, but followed along with the rest of the group as they recited the now-familiar mantra. Collins glanced at Mimi, but was disappointed to see she was only mouthing the words.

"No day but today…"

Collins looked over at Xander. His one eye was gazing resolutely at the floor, and he looked like he was trying not to cry.

"Xander?" Paul turned to him. "Do you want to start us off?"

Xander looked up, and locked eyes briefly with Mimi. She was looking at him with a concerned expression, and he gifted her with a nervous smile, but she looked away rather than returning it, leaning her cheek on her knees and staring out the window.

"Okay." Xander cleared his throat. "I… uh… I saw this thing advertised, and I know it's supposed to be for people with AIDS, but…"

"It's for people coping with life," Collins put in, remembering how Angel had first described the group to Mark and Roger.

"Right," Xander smiled. "And… I lost someone I loved. Recently."

"We've all done that," Steve consoled him.

"We weren't actually together, though. More preposy. Well, postposy really. Anyway, she… She died. Her name was Anya, and she was…Amazing. I loved her more than anything."

He swallowed, trying to control his emotion. Collins felt tears prickling behind his own eyes, thinking of Angel. Mimi grabbed his hand, digging her nails into his skin and pressing her lips together, her hastily applied mascara leaving tracks on her pale face.

"I have… I mean, my friends are the best in the world," Xander continued. "But they're all… Will, Willow, who I've known since playgroup, she has this new girlfriend, and Buffy's… busy, there's no-one I can talk to. So I came here."

Aly nodded. "It was like that for me, too. Nobody really had time for me except these guys."

"That's what we're here for," Paul smiled.

Collins turned to Xander. "I know exactly what you're going through." Mimi nodded fiercely, causing Xander to smile.

Haltingly, holding Mimi's hand tightly, Collins recounted the story of how both of them had met and lost their lovers. He explained that at first, he had wanted nothing more than to join Angel wherever she had ended up, but over time, he realised that much as he knew she had loved him, she wouldn't want him there. Not yet. The story continued well past the scheduled ending time of the meeting, but no one got up to leave.

Eventually, the dancer and the professor walked out of the building, blinking in the bright natural light. Xander walked ahead of them, and turned when he reached the bottom of the steps.

"So I'll see you guys next time, right?"

Collins grinned. "Ah, a convert."

Mimi stepped forward slowly, taking Xander's hands in hers when she reached him. Their gazes locked, Mimi's eyes full of sadness, seriousness and a concern for Xander so touching that he unconsciously squeezed her hands.

She let go, staring at her feet, and Xander cursed himself silently for moving too fast. He understood that Mimi, in her current state, needed to take everything as slow as possible.

But a second later, the dancer raised her eyes, and to Collins' amazement, in a voice hoarse from days of disuse and crying, she spoke.

"Sorry about your friend."

_If you review, a small, red-haired gratitude fairy will rain kisses on your sleeping brow._


End file.
